Liquid Courage
by jenrussell131
Summary: Carol gets her hands on some whiskey during a girls night and says some things she may regret.
1. Chapter 1

The storage units helped to block the cold wind, but they still froze on most nights. They had found a number of blankets and warm coats, but it was the whiskey that kept them the warmest. It also made for some interesting conversations that were harder to get away in such close quarters.

"Have I ever told you about why I hate washing everyone's clothes? That fat asshole had the worst pit stains in the world and let me tell you, if you didn't get them all out on the first try he sure let you know what a piece of shit he thought you were. It was a good day if he only used his words." She stopped ranting and put the bottle back to her lips taking another big gulp of whiskey.

"Lori, would you believe at one point I was jealous of you? Two attractive men fighting over you? I'm sure they had more talent in their pinky fingers than Ed could have ever hoped for! He couldn't have gotten me off if his life depended on it!" Carol took another shot of the Southern Comfort.

"And Maggie, you have your cute little man too. How lucky for both of you that the end of the world gave you each a new man." She paused to take a drink, oblivious to the expressions both women wore.

"Stay calm," T-Dog urged in a whisper. "It's just the alcohol and her emotions. She doesn't mean it."

"Now, Dixon, don't even get me started on Daryl Dixon! I have given that man nothing but green lights and I still can't get him in my pants! If I could find an airport, I'd get those light thingys, you know, the ones they use to guide some man on where he needs to put something. I wonder if he'd get the memo then. Maybe I just have to rip my clothes off in front of him. Maggie, do you think that would work?"

Carol stopped ranting long enough to take another large pull off the bottle. Maggie met Lori's eyes, sharing in the uneasy concern. They had never seen her like this and were scared to see what could happen next. Maggie, being the quick thinker that she was, knew there was only one person that would be able to pull her back.

She caught Glenn's attention and nodded to the door. He looked confused as he tried to read her lips, not understanding what she wanted. He glanced at Lori, who tapped at her ear and pulled at her necklace, eyes trying to convey who he was being sent after.

That was some sign language he understood. He wasn't aware Rick had told her about that. He gave Lori a slight nod and took off. Knowing Daryl was on watch, he first stopped to get Rick so he could cover the shift, and to help convince the angry redneck that there was someone far scarier than him at the moment.

"Carol don't talk like that. What the fuck is wrong with you?" he asked Glenn without even turning around. He wasn't sure why he would say she was cursing like a sailor when she couldn't barely mutter the non-curses like heck and damm. That was when he heard her and ran towards the screaming as fast as his feet would go, but it felt like he was moving in slow motion.

"You hear me down there? Ed, you fucking asshole?" she screamed down at the ground. T-Dog looked around frantically for anyone else that could help. Seeing no one strong enough to help get her in control of herself, he put his arms around her trying to hug her, not sure of what to do in this situation.

She felt the arms around her and froze. Everything she saw appeared to be red as she flashed back to her life before the turn. She heard Ed's voice in her head and reacted.

"Get the fuck off me!" she began kicking and screaming as T-Dog let go and backed away, hands up in the air.

"I hope that the fucking devil himself is having a great time beating the shit out of you. I hope you cry like a bitch every single time you get fucked in the ass against your free will!" she screamed into the air, not making eye contact with anyone.

Daryl slowly walked in front of her, arms outstretched to show he meant her no harm. He slowly lowered his body until he was sitting cross legged on the ground at her feet. The crazed look in her eyes faded as she looked at him. She realized where she was, who she was with, and what had happened. She was embarrassed. He inched his hand forward, hoping that she would take it. When she did, he gently pulled her towards him, but the alcohol had caught up to her. She saw the ground spinning up to meet her and the world went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Before she even moved, Carol could feel the pain. Her brain felt like mush, her eyeballs were throbbing, and her stomach was churning. She groaned as she rolled onto her back and opened her eyes, surprised to see Daryl sitting on her bed next to her. She attempted to lift her head off of the pillow and quickly realized how bad that idea was. She rolled over again so she could look at him without moving. He took a washcloth off her nightstand and gently wiped it across her forehead.

"I think I'm dying," she whined.

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd be feeling too good after last night's performance," he said quietly. He knew her head must be killing her so her so he kept his voice low.

"Performance? Oh crap." She pulled the blanket up over her head and buried her face against his side, not caring what he thought about it. She couldn't remember anything after finding the whiskey and talking with the other women. How bad could things have gotten for him to be in her bed with her, taking care of her?

"You don't remember complaining about doing laundry?" he asked. She moved her head slightly, indicating that she didn't remember. "Do you remember talking about being jealous of Lori?" Her eyes widened and she tried to say no, but her mouth was so dry she couldn't get the word out.

"How about screaming into the ground at Ed? He felt her lift her head enough to rest it on his chest. She threw her arm over her eyes to hide the light, or maybe to hide herself. "You also attacked T-Dog."

"I did what? I just wanted a fun night with the girls, and blacking out and this hangover is what I end up with? Well, that wasn't my plan."

She was mortified. She shifted her legs some, but decided the movement was having an adverse effect on her stomach. As if he knew what she was thinking, he dipped the washcloth back in the cold water, wrung it out, and patted at her forehead and cheeks.

"One more thing I gotta tell you. Do you remember talking about me?" He felt her hold her breath and tense up. She sprung up quickly and he was ready for her with the bucket he had on hand. He rubbed her back and waited until she was finished and helped her lay back down. He moved the bucket farther away and sat back at her side.

"What did I say?" Carol began to panic. Her heart felt as though it was the loudest thing she had ever heard. Her palms were sweating and she was starting to feel dizzy.

"You were talking about green lights, traffic control lights, and, you were, uh, oh fuck it." This poor woman was already horrified by the events of the night, how was he supposed to make it worse and tell her about the ridiculous stuff she was saying about him. As much as he wished it really was her, she was piss ass drunk.

"You said I wasn't understanding that you wanted me in your pants and that maybe if you just got naked I'd get the picture." There, he said it.

Well, that wasn't supposed to happen, she thought. She was beyond mortified. Sure, it was how she felt, but he wasn't supposed to know that. She was resigned to watching him from afar and keeping any possible relationship in her imagination.

"Daryl, I'm sorry."

"What the hell for? Getting drunk and saying something stupid?" He pulled her a little closer and rubbed her arm. You know, Merle used to say 'A drunken man's words are a sober man's thoughts' but he was a dumbass."

Carol realized how true that was. It took a large amount of humiliation and about a pint of whiskey for her to finally say how she felt, and now that she had, he didn't believe her. If she looked how she felt today, she could understand why he thought it was the alcohol talking. She was three sheets to the wind last night and now she wanted three more sheets to pull over her head.

"It was all true. I remember what I said about you, and it was all true," she sighed. Carol moved to get out of her bed and put some distance between them before she felt the rejection of him running away from her.

"Wait." Daryl stood quickly and gently placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her in front of him. "I've never made a move because I wasn't sure if you were just flirting or if you were serious. If I knew you were serious, I would have made a move a long ass time ago."

He helped her to stand and drew her into a hug, one hand at the small of her back, the other tight around her shoulders. He kissed her forehead and let her go except for her hand.

"Thank you, Daryl. For everything."

"That's what I'm here for. Now let's get you cleaned up and get you out of those pants."

He smirked as he put an arm around her and began the long walk to the showers. The connection had been there since he handed her the pickaxe. Like the song said, they were just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl. Thanks to some liquid courage, they were no longer lost, they would be together.


End file.
